The couple say another young boy, who cannot be identified because of his age, was responsible for Liam's injuries.

The 14 men and women of the jury are due to return to the High Court in Livingston at 10am after around four hours of deliberations on Friday.

Before sending jurors out to consider their verdicts on the eight charges the accused face, judge Lord Burns told them to "act impartially and dispassionately" as they consider a ''highly emotional'' case.

He told the jurors they could return verdicts of guilty, not guilty or not proven to the charges - the latter two being verdicts of acquittal.

The judge also said they were under no pressure and could take as long as they needed to reach a decision.

Both accused, originally of Ryton, Tyne and Wear, also deny attempting to defeat the ends of justice by falsely incriminating another boy for Liam's death.

They further deny a catalogue of allegations of harming and neglecting two young boys, including the one they blame, over more than two years.